Film

Television

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Box Office Buz: DVD and Blu-ray releases for August 1, 2017

A nice little week full of some gems starting with a new show from HBO that really blew me away, Big Little Lies. Jane Chapman (Shailene Woodley) moves to a well off coastal town in California with her son and if befriended by Madeline Mackenzie (Reese Witherspoon) and Celeste Wright (Nicole Kidman). Before long Jane gets involved in the turmoils of the town from the grade school problems between Jane?s son and the daughter of socialite Renata Klein (Laura Dern) to the strange relationship Celeste has with her possibly abusive husband Perry (Alexander Skarsgd). The many complicated relationships prove they could even lead to murder.

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Big Little Lies is one of the best new shows I have seen on TV in a long time. The entire cast are at the top of their games and all put in searing performances that feel eerily authentic. The show starts off with the murder of someone we are not shown and as the season progresses you are shows the lives of all of these people in minute detail as you put together who may have committed murder and who may have been on the deserving end of it. Brilliant writing, wonderful acting and an idyllic location hiding the town?s dark secrets all lead to one of the best HBO shows out there. This is what TV binging was made for. Very highly recommended.

Next up is the new Tom Hanks film The Circle. Emma Watson stars as Mae Holland, a young woman stuck in a dead-end job. When Mae?s friend Annie (Karen Gillan) calls, and tells Mae she has set up an interview at a huge tech company she works for, The Circle, Mae is beyond excited. AS Mae gets accustomed to the new company and their strange policies, especially CEO Eamon Bailey?s new initiative, SeeChange, which would eventually see cameras all over the world watching everyone?s every move, Mae starts to question the company?s tactics and purpose. And her curiosity may cost her more than a job.

The Circle is not only a great and very entertaining thriller, but a scary look into tech companies and the future of surveillance. In the past couple of decades, we have already been transformed into a much-watched society but The Circle poses the question of when it becomes too much. Watson is excellent in the lead role and Hanks portrays the Jobs/Musk/Branson CEO to perfection. An intriguing film worth checking out.

Lastly this week is new heist movie with a fresh twist, Going in Style. Three seniors, Joe (Michael Caine), Willie (Morgan Freeman) and Albert (Alan Arkin) are living social security check to check after having their pensions taken from them and have decided they have had enough. Determined to leave their families something substantial, the three men plan to rob a bank. But with no idea how to do it, they consult Jesus (John Ortiz), a pet store owner with some first hand experience. Although the task is significantly more complicated than the guys were anticipating, they have the drive to get it done and make things right for their families.

Going in Style is directed by Zach Braff of Garden State and Scrubs and is a remake of a 1979 film of the same name. The story is very entertaining thanks to the combined talent and chemistry of the three leads. Caine, Freeman and Arkin really look like they are having a great time while still conveying the serious nature of their character?s situations. And watching these three seniors try and pull off the heist and make it all work is expertly written and as fun to watch as one of the Oceans 11 movies. For a fun film full of heart, laughs and genuine emotional weight, Going in Style is a winner.

Also of note this week is the new Anne Hathaway comedy Colossal, the sci-fi-ish thriller Sleight, and the strange Bryan Cranston drama Wakefield.

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A film fan since he was a wee child and received a full sized Terminator movie poster as a gift, Bill lives for movies. An avid collector of Blu-ray and DVD (and VHS, Beta, and Laserdisc before that), Bill also has his own review site, Fountain Pop.com and has recently completed his first horror novel, 10 Minutes from Home. Bill is often a crusader for the films that no one likes or no one has heard of(he loves Ishtar, Superman Returns, the Star Wars prequels and almost all of the horror remakes...) and just wants everyone to share their love for movies instead of spreading their hate for them.